Unit3: Information systems

2009-10

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Notes

1 Know the source and characteristics of business information

Characteristics: distinction between data and information; type of information (qualitative, quantitative); primary; secondary; characteristics of good information eg valid, reliable, timely, fit-for-purpose, accessible, cost-effective, sufficiently accurate, relevant, having the right level of detail, from a source in
which the user has confidence, understandable by the user; transformation of data into information (collection, storage, processing and manipulation, retrieval, presentation)

Sources of information: internal eg financial, personnel, marketing, purchasing, sales, manufacturing, administration; external eg government, trade groupings, commercially provided, databases, research; reliability of data sources

2 Understand how organisations use business information

Purposes: operational support eg monitoring and controlling activity; analysis eg to identify patterns or trends; decision making (operational, tactical, strategic); gaining commercial advantage

Functional areas: eg sales, purchasing, manufacturing, marketing, finance, personnel, administration

Information flows: internal information flows; information flows to external bodies; information flow diagrams

3 Understand the issues and constraints in relation to the use of information in organisations

Legal issues: relevant data protection legislation eg Data Protection Act 1998, Freedom of Information Act 2000; other relevant legislation eg Computer Misuse Act 1990

Ethical issues: codes of practice eg on use of email, internet, ‘whistle blowing’; organisational policies; information ownership

Operational issues: security of information; backups; health and safety; organisational policies; business continuance plans; costs eg additional resources required, cost of development; impact of increasing sophistication of systems eg more trained personnel, more complex software

4 Know the features and functions of information systems

Tools: databases; artificial intelligence and expert systems; internet; others eg data mining systems, predictive modelling

Information system examples: eg marketing (sales performance, competitors etc), financial (financial costs, investment returns etc), human resources (HR) (staffing, professional development etc)

Management information systems (MIS): features; benefits; effectiveness criteria eg accuracy, sustainability, response times, confidence

Key elements of information systems: data; people; hardware; software; telecommunications

Information systems functions: input; storage; processing; output; control and feedback loops; closed and open systems

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